Point of View

Is Freedom Just Another Word for Something Left to Lose? By Maria Grant

March 5, 2021 by Maria Grant Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about freedom and liberty, shall we? Over the last few days, I’ve heard many newscasters, reporters, concerned citizens, and Texans and Mississippians claim that opening Texas and Mississippi completely with no mask mandates protects individuals’ freedom and liberty. If you don’t want to return to work, don’t. If you want to wear a mask, you can. It’s all about individual freedom and liberty.

Get serious. While you’re being free to do as you please, you are endangering others if you are not wearing a mask. When the CDC, competent medical doctors, the Biden administration say, “hang tight, not yet–we’re almost there,” it’s crazy to throw caution to the winds and let the freedom flag fly. Why are these two state governors making this move? To earn points with their constituents by opening the economy and appealing to their Republican bases, especially restaurants and other small businesses. I might also add that according to The Washington Post, both Texas and Mississippi have experienced a rise in cases in recent days. Plus, Mississippi is 47th and Texas is 49th in comparison to other states for the number of people per capita who have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

These so-called freedom and liberty zealots are the same people who want to be free to carry arms and concealed weapons. Do they also want to be free to pollute streams, rivers and oceans? Free to drink and drive? Free to drive cars that will not pass proper emission standards? Free to incite an insurrection at the Capitol, endangering lives of many and causing death to others?

There is such a thing called empathy–worrying about others besides yourselves. Your failure to wear a mask endangers others. We’ve all witnessed the devastating effect of super-spreader events, causing many people—some very young–to die. To believe you are free, you have rights, you must also believe you have the responsibility to protect others. Freedom without responsibility just doesn’t work. You are free to use public spaces, hike in national parks, but you must use them responsibly. You must not endanger others.

We all want to breathe clean air and drink clean water. That means we all need to follow rules. Be responsible. So that the quality of our air and waters improves—a subject near and dear to most Eastern Shore residents’ hearts.

All institutions have rules that must be obeyed. When you choose to work at a particular job, you must follow the rules—they’re called conditions of employment. When you decide to live in a particular community, you may have neighborhood or HOA requirements. Our government has rules too. And in times of strong turmoil or duress, it is even more important that we follow those rules—the rules that try to keep as many Americans as safe as possible and protect as many people as we can. No rules doesn’t mean more freedom. It means chaos, anarchy, and impairs the rights of others, including, in some cases, the right to live.

The ironic part of this whole “freedom” business is that the very people who are preaching freedom and liberty to the rafters are the same people who claim that women should not have the freedom to have control over their bodies—to make personal decisions that work for them.

The hypocrisy of the whole freedom argument is mind boggling. I agree that kids need to get back in school. That we need to get back to business as usual. But let’s do it responsibly. Let’s not get almost to the goal line and then cave. That’s a losing strategy—not a winning one. When you undermine good-faith guidance that helps all Americans, you are undermining democracy, liberty and freedom.

Bob Dylan once said, “I think of a hero as someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom.” Well said Bob. And a special shout out to the many who are acting responsibly and protecting their fellow Americans. Thanks.

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, piano, reading, biking, kayaking, gardening, and travel.

A Dog’s Purpose by Angela Rieck

March 4, 2021 by Angela Rieck 7 Comments

As many of you know, I am an experienced dog person. I am not a professional trainer, but by fostering and rehabilitating over 200 dogs, I have learned a lot about the human/dog relationship. Most of my learning has come through trial and error, but sometimes I get help along the way.

My first rescue was a 2-year-old, 70-pound, black German Shepherd named Abby. The rescue organization told me that she was a product of a divorce, meaning that she had no issues; but merely was in the wrong family at the wrong time. Over the next several years, my husband and I became convinced that she was the cause of the divorce.

Abby was a sweet, but difficult dog. She was anxious, paced constantly, barked, and whined incessantly. When I was away, she would bark nonstop, even though my daughter and her nanny were home. Most nights, she woke us up over the slightest sound, often her stress would result in stomach issues and she was a frequent visitor to the vet.

Each time the vet asked me how she was, I would smile and say what a great dog she was…but on her 5^th birthday, I broke down and cried. I confessed about our struggles with her. I had convinced myself that I was too busy to make this dog happy; I was a working mom, with a big job, a husband, a large house, and volunteer activities.

The vet smiled.

“I think that I know what the problem is. Your dog is frustrated because she can’t do what she was bred to do,” she went on. “Your German Shepherd was bred to protect and herd, and she has nothing to do.”

“Many of the behavior problems that I see are due to a frustrated dog not doing what it was bred to do,” she continued. “Never get a dog with a purpose.”

Then she suggested that I get another dog.

I looked at her as if she were wearing a spacesuit. “Are you kidding, I am struggling with Abby, why would I get another dog?”

“She needs something to do, she needs someone to care for, to herd, to protect.”

In desperation, I took her advice and bought a sweet little cockapoo puppy named Sophie that even looked like a miniature sheep (since then I only rescue, but I was desperate). Everything changed.

Abby spent her days herding little Sophie, gently correcting, and protecting her. Abby would subtly lie between a visitor and Sophie. Once I understood Abby’s language, I would tell Abby that it was okay, and she would allow people to pet Sophie. Abby became relaxed, happy, confident.

It worked so well, that I rescued another cockapoo. Abby spent her days using her herding instincts, cutting them (a herder’s term for separating them), grouping them, leading them. The puppies loved it…they had a big sister that they could jump and play on; and Abby could finally fulfill her purpose.

Since then, I adopt dogs that have no purpose. The Cockapoos, Maltese’s, poodle mixes, Schnoodles, Shih Tzus that I have adopted had only one purpose. To love and be loved…that is something that I can do.

For potential dog owners, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get a specific breed. But think about the original purpose of that breed and make sure that you can fulfill it. A border collie needs to run and herd. Smarter species (e.g., poodles, Havanese) need to exercise their brains (e.g., learning tricks). Retrievers need to retrieve, but it can be a tennis ball. If you are adopting a mixed breed, research all its likely breed instincts. And if you have a dog that is struggling, see if it is able to fulfill its purpose.

Dogs are lucky, they have one purpose their lives. But with us humans, it is a different story.

Our purposes change with circumstances and age. Since my unexpected retirement I have struggled finding my purpose. Before retirement, I had built-in purposes: get an education, work hard, raise my family, work on our marriage, etc. But now, it is more complicated. Some retirees have this figured out: some have hobbies that they deferred, some have looked into spirituality, others learn and do new things, others give back.

Dogs are lucky, their purpose is bred into them.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Harris Votes “No” on the American Rescue Plan? Was he right? by J.E. Dean

March 3, 2021 by J.E. Dean 12 Comments

Andy “Handgun” Harris remains at work fighting for the interests of the Eastern Shore. On Saturday, his contribution was to vote against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The bill passed the House, 219-212, with all Republicans and two Democrats voting “no.” But if Andy had his way, you could forget about those family stimulus checks of $1,400 for adults earning $75,000 or less a year, $1,400 payment for each dependent child, a $3,600 annual tax credit per child under age 6, and $3,000 per child up to age 17.

The bill also increases the weekly unemployment benefit from $300 to $400 per week through August 29, provides $130 billion in new funds for K-12 public schools, and $85 billion in new funds to fight the pandemic: Roughly $50 billion for virus testing and contact tracing, $19 billion to increase the size of the public health workforce, and $16 billion to fund vaccine distribution and supply chains. Dr. Harris apparently concluded that these investments are not necessary. I wonder if a second opinion from Dr. Fauci might differ.

If the ARPA sounds like a liberal wish list to you, maybe Harris is right. Here’s how Harris explains his vote:

From funding the Pelosi tunnel to the Schumer bridge, the Biden bailout is nothing but a pricey liberal wish list. If Democrats were serious about focusing on COVID-19, they would focus on spending the $1 trillion in currently unspent stimulus dollars, reopening schools, and following the science on vaccine policy. Unfortunately, future generations will be saddled with the Biden bailout’s big price tag.

Analyzing this statement, the first thing to notice is a reference to the “Pelosi tunnel.” It is $141 million of the $90 billion provided for infrastructure. Of the entire $1.9 trillion bill, it is 0.000074 of the total spending. Is it wasteful spending? It’s a subway tunnel in Pelosi’s district, described by critics as a “pet project” but supported by others in the area. There appears to be no evidence that Harris researched the proposed tunnel before condemning it. And even if the tunnel were wasteful spending, does that justify opposing the entire bill, which will provide millions in needed funds for Marylanders?

The bill also calls for funding for the “Schumer bridge,” which is a reference for the Seaway International Bridge. This is $1.5 million (not a typo) of the spending. Apparently, Andy “Handgun” Harris wasn’t aware that the funding request did not originate with Senator Schumer. It was made in 2020 by the Trump Department of Transportation, headed by Elaine Chao, spouse of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Curiously, Harris does not mention relief for small businesses, including SBA loan forgiveness. Has Dr. Harris concluded Maryland small businesses don’t need help? Are you aware of any small business that has not been hurt by the shut down?

He also is not talking about the $47 billion in the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. I wonder if some of that money might come in handy for the Eastern Shore next time a major hurricane hits.

Final passage on the ARPA will hopefully occur soon. At this point, it is a safe bet that both our Senators and every House member, other than Harris will vote for it. Maryland voters should remember this vote. Harris is out of touch with the Eastern Shore. Issues other than the Second Amendment are important to us.

“Handgun” Harris is wrong to oppose this legislation.

J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, and domestic policy.

In the Air by Jamie Kirkpatrick

March 2, 2021 by Jamie Kirkpatrick 2 Comments

The geese had been gathering for several days: huge flocks assembling, sheltering together in the fields, gossiping, gleaning, making preparations for their long journey back to the Canadian tundra. Suddenly, sensing the celestial clockwork of the season, they lifted off early in the evening of the full Snow Moon (February 27 this year), using its bright light as a beacon to guide them on their northbound way.

Meanwhile, to the south, the flyways are full of ospreys making their way back to their summer nests on our rivers and Bay. My bet is that within the next few days, we’ll have had the first annual sighting of these soaring beauties, keening on high as they fish for dinner.

And then there are the tiny luminescent hummingbirds. They, too, are making their way north, having left their winter feeding grounds in Central America to wend their way through Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas before arriving in mid-April at the feeders in our gardens and backyards.

Oh; and let’s not forget one more airborne journey: monarch butterflies—the only migrating species of butterfly—are flitting north, more than half a million of them returning to the places where they were born, repopulating as they go. (The lifespan of a monarch butterfly is only a few weeks so it takes several generations to complete the complete migratory cycle.) This year, the East Coast population of monarchs began their northward migration from Mexico on February 24 and by summer, God willing, their lovely stained-glass wings will again be folding and unfolding here.

Spring is literally in the air. Depending on your personal perspectives and preferences, all this vernal avian movement is either a divine mystery or just another explicable, rational fact. Take your pick. Either way, it’s a fascinating display of the wonders of the natural world—the one that surrounds us, the one we so desperately need to care for.

And therein lies the problem. You see, there’s something else in the air, something colorless, tasteless, and odorless; something invisible, silent, and, sad to say, dangerous. It’s carbon dioxide (CO2), a naturally formed trace gas consisting of a single carbon atom covalently bonded to two oxygen atoms. The current concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is about .04%, or 412 parts per million. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s a higher level of atmospheric carbon dioxide than at any other time in the past 300 million years of our planet’s history, and it’s accelerating at an alarming rate.

Unless you are a true non-believer, paleoclimatology is not for the faint of heart; it’s a sobering science that seeks to explain life on Earth as a function of climate. I don’t pretend to understand all its scientific nuance, but this much I do understand: as the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere increases, so does Earth’s temperature. And because we live on such a capricious planet, even a small increase in temperature can have profound environmental consequences. Ice will melt, seas will rise, and weather phenomena will become evermore virulent.

In the pre-industrial age, the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere was about half of what it is today. While there are many natural sources of carbon dioxide—volcanoes, geysers, even groundwater—there are many more human-derived sources, primarily fossil fuel emissions and deforestation, the two leading causes of global warming and ocean acidification. The evidence of cataclysmic change is already before our eyes and it’s not a pretty sight. Earth’s warning lights are flashing bright red.

All this may seem a long way from where I began, but it’s not. The great avian migrations that have signaled the coming of spring for millennia may seem like a timeless component of the rhythm of life on earth, but the patterns and numbers of these migrations are changing rapidly. Loss of habitat, competition for resources, pesticide use, and rising temperatures are having a major impact on these wondrous events, perhaps forever changing our previously simplistic notion that, once again, spring is in the air.

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives in Chestertown. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine.
Two collections of his essays (“Musing Right Along” and “I’ll Be Right Back”) are available on Amazon. Jamie’s website is www.musingjamie.com.

Out and About (Sort of): Tubman 20 by Howard Freedlander

March 2, 2021 by Howard Freedlander 2 Comments

Symbolism matters. So does well-deserved recognition. Often, both take awhile, unfortunately.

I am referring to stalling efforts by the Trump Administration, for oblique reasons decipherable only to it, to place the Eastern Shore’s famed and intrepid Underground Railroad conductor, Harriet Tubman, on the 20-dollar bill to replace the racist President Andrew Jackson.

The Biden Administration has reversed its predecessor’s obstruction, moving ahead to place one of our nation’s fiercest slavery fighters on US currency. The new Tubman 20 likely will not materialize until 2025.

Some may ask: Who cares? Why does it matter?

American currency memorializes our Founding Fathers, such as Presidents Washington and Jefferson and Citizen Extraordinaire Ben Franklin, Presidents Lincoln, Ulysses Grant and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as well as Alexander Hamilton. Raised in a traditional, patriotic manner, I always imagined (when I was not capriciously spending it) that those pictured or engraved were people whom I should respect, if not revere.

And so I did. Until I learned more about these flawed individuals whose wisdom and common sense still impresses me, in most cases. If I am a young person being taught the meaning of money and about those portrayed on coins and bills, then I would think that someone like Harriet Tubman is an ideal choice.

If some might consider her a politically correct choice to replace the disruptive Jackson, I have one response: baloney.

She is a superb choice. If informed properly by parents or grandparents, children today would learn that Tubman was a heroic savior for slaves in Dorchester County. This intrepid woman was fearless. Slavery imprisoned her friends and family in an inhumane system that trampled people’s spirits, if not killed them as if they were worthless chattel.

It was a shameful socio-economic system that still haunts our nation, if not condemns it for its pernicious past. Tubman’s image on a $20 bill would compel parents and teachers to explain why a little Black woman—with incredible courage and unmatched skill in navigating the countryside and avoiding merciless slave hunters—deserves to be memorialized.

She would be a role model. As a Black woman, she shattered all misconceptions; she surpassed men in her courage and conviction. She was relentless.

Though uneducated, she expressed her eloquence and passion through life-defying actions in a society that in some quarters considered her a no-good thief.

After all, she was stealing property from slave owners, many opined. Tubman’s story must be told. She did not steal. She gave slaves freedom extracted amorally from them.

A $20 bill with the image of a small, determined women staring out at a world still riddled with anti-Black prejudice pays appropriate homage to a Dorchester County native—and American hero.

A tribute written in 1868 by Talbot County native, orator and renown abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, aptly underscores the depth and daring of Harriet Tubman in using her uncanny expertise to carry slaves to lives free of mental and economic shackles:

“I have had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt, “God bless you,” has been your only reward. The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of your devotion to freedom and of your heroism.”

Symbolism has meaning. It conveys a story well worth telling to all Americans. In this case, it also shines a light on a despicable part of our history.

Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.

COVID Vaccination: Are We Making This Too Difficult by Craig Fuller

March 1, 2021 by Craig Fuller 5 Comments

It was reported a few days ago that about 14% of us have received a COVID vaccination and just over 7% of the U.S. population have received two COVID vaccine shots. Clearly, there is a long way to go.

Just imagine if in this nation we right now had around 88,000 locations and 300,000 or more people trained to deliver medication to individuals. How much better might it be if these well trained and experienced people in these places were already delivering nearly 200 million doses of regular influenza vaccine to patients every year.

If this kind of system existed in the nation, wouldn’t you want to see it better utilized for the COVID vaccine?

Well, it does exist. We call the places pharmacies and the people pharmacists. Yes, in addition to the flu vaccines they administer, they fill almost 4.5 billion prescriptions every year. And, doing this requires a network of suppliers and distributors that call on pharmacies once, sometimes twice, a day to supply them with medicines of all kinds.

As stories are told about trying to get appointments, of long lines, of waiting lists too long to even accept more people, I keep wondering: why are governments building parallel systems to administer the COVID vaccine?

One of the strangest approaches I heard about is occurring in the nation’s Capital. The District of Columbia officials actually distribute the vaccine according to zip codes of their choosing. Friday is an “open” day for all zip codes so citizens can log in and play a lottery-like challenge to get a vaccination.

Imagine if this odd plan applied to asthma medication or heart medications…..sorry, we only fill prescriptions for this medication if you live in certain zip codes…strange, isn’t it!

Then, there are the positive – sort of – stories of how so many people don’t show up for a government run scheduled appointment that pharmacists have been known to come out into their store and ask people if they want a vaccination because the unused vaccine for the day would have to be destroyed.

Here, where I live in Maryland, I am getting invited with some frequency to travel for a couple of hours to an amusement park where I could wait in a long line for my vaccination.

Perhaps the policy makers had it right when they initially spoke of using retail pharmacies to provide vaccinations. Most people live near a pharmacy. The pharmacy receives medical products everyday through a proven system involving thousands of trucks and many thousands of trained people.

Do we really need to use stadiums, amusement parks and the nation’s military for distribution?

With many millions more doses of the vaccine delivered than there have been shots administered, we really should take a new look at how best to get the other 93% of the population their second shot, not to mention getting people their first shot. I think having the government in the middle of the distribution business is not helping. We have an incredible structure in place to receive medications from manufacturers and deliver those medications to the nation’s local pharmacies. Let’s use the system built over decades and allow the government focus on the distribution system they own and operate so well: the Postal Service.

Craig Fuller served four years in the White House as assistant to President Reagan for Cabinet Affairs, followed by four years as chief of staff to Vice President George H.W. Bush. Having been engaged in five presidential campaigns and run public affairs firms and associations in Washington, D.C., he now resides on the Eastern Shore.

Snapshots of Daily Life: Windows by George Merrill

February 28, 2021 by George R. Merrill Leave a Comment

I’ll sleep a third of my life away. I’ll spend thousands of hours just going in and out of doors. But mostly I’ll be watching through windows, looking out or seeing in. For something that is invisible, the presence of windows enlarges my world.

In a lifetime, there will be millions of windows I will look through. They’ll reveal what would remain unknown without them. We take windows for granted. we hardly if ever notice them. Glass is a remarkable creation, first created four thousand years ago.

Mirrors were produced much later in the 19th century. Unlike windows, mirrors show “just me.” We’re seeing nothing new except for the metamorphoses of aging or various cosmetic adjustments. Windows, on the other hand, coax us out of ourselves. Windows reveal the world beyond “just me.”

Imagine, for example, living in a house with no windows or driving a car you couldn’t see out of? What would it be like roaming malls that have no windows? It’s unimaginable. Even if post-modern technology could make such a thing possible, being in our houses, driving cars or shopping in malls would be intolerably boring.

Last week, I watched the ice storm outside through my living room window. I was able to participate in two worlds at once through the offices of glass: the world out there and the one in here, very different ones I would add; the one world was cold and foreboding, the other warm and hospitable. Windows brought us together.

As a child, I was fascinated with glass: how could this thing have physical properties but at the same time remain invisible. “What’s glass made of,” I once asked my father. “Sand,” he replied. He wasn’t always helpful. I concluded on my own that glass must be composed of the stuff ghosts are; a kind of cosmic substance possessing an invisible corporeality.

In churches, I am conscious of stained glass windows. They depict saints in florid colors. Glass makes sense here since I was taught how saints were special people because light shone through them.

Among the sweetest of childhood’s forbidden fruits, breaking windows has got to be the favorite, for boys anyway. Abandoned buildings are ripe fruit; easy pickens. As the rock, I threw hit the windowpane in the old brewery not far from my house, the breaking glass sounded musical to me, titillating my darker instincts but appealing to my aesthetic sensitivities. When a rock hits a window, the sound has something of the dramatic crescendo of clashing symbols one hears during an orchestral performance.

Windows, fragile are they are, have a strong psychological effect in securing boundaries. I understand burglars are often reluctant to break windows when making a heist. Strange. It would certainly make for an easy entrance. Maybe it’s just reluctance to make noise but I’ve wondered whether, despite their fragility, windows create powerful taboos against violating boundaries.

We say, “glass ceiling” to describe the limits that existing power structures impose on select people in their workplaces, typically women. It’s easy to spot stonewalling, but glass provides an invisible barrier.

As a boy growing up on Staten Island in the late thirties and early forties, there were no malls. We shopped differently, then, not modernity’s casual drive to the mall that contains everything you ever wanted. Choices on the Island were limited. Serious shopping involved going to the city, in this case, Manhattan. Like pilgrimages, we’d make annual family excursions, to Manhattan before Easter and before Christmas. We’d outfit ourselves properly for the seasons.

These excursions were all day events. They involved taking the Staten Island ferry to Manhattan. We then boarded the subway at Bowling Green to take us uptown. I loved listening to the rhythmic “clickety-clack” as the train propelled us through its tunnels. Train windows were dreadfully grimy. I could hardly see out of them. We’d exit the stations closest to Macy’s or Saks. As we took the stairs from the station platform to the street, the skyscrapers loomed above us. They were like monoliths with windows as for up as I could see.

Department stores’ fronts had windows displaying merchandise while also securing it. One window had a display of electric trains wending their way through quaint, miniature villages and lush countrysides. The mannequins in some stores were exquisitely dressed and seemed to be looking right at me. I kept waiting for one of them to greet me. I remember once when we first entered Macy’s, the entire store exuded a distinctive and pleasing scent. It may have been the scent produced when everything in a building is brand new.

As a child, the fairy land of merchandise seemed to me even more enchanting as we prepared to leave the city for the Island. Since by then streets were getting dark, store fronts were brightly lit, and the merchandise presented behind large windows was all the more enchanting and alluring for its illumination.

We say an opportunity presents itself to us as a “window.” We look through this window to seize the good fortune that awaits us. Timing is of the essence. When the attitude of the heart is open and ready, this is the optimum time. We see the opportunities through windows more clearly then. With an open heart, our window of opportunity becomes wider and filled with promise.

I was affirmed recently in the boyhood thought I had about windows being composed of spectral properties. On the sun porch, on cold sunny days, between a double paned window, a ghost appears. He is translucent, like a thick mist and I watch him morph this way and that as temperatures fluctuate. Late afternoon, as it grows colder, he slowly disappears. Unlike most ghosts, this one likes basking in the sunlight between windows rather than haunting people in dark rooms. I can’t tell whether he’s looking in or out of the window.

Columnist George Merrill is an Episcopal Church priest and pastoral psychotherapist. A writer and photographer, he’s authored two books on spirituality: Reflections: Psychological and Spiritual Images of the Heart and The Bay of the Mother of God: A Yankee Discovers the Chesapeake Bay. He is a native New Yorker, previously directing counseling services in Hartford, Connecticut, and in Baltimore. George’s essays, some award winning, have appeared in regional magazines and are broadcast twice monthly on Delmarva Public Radio.

Letter to Chestertown Community from Shore Regional Health

February 25, 2021 by Letter to Editor Leave a Comment

At University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, our mission is steadfast: Creating Healthier Communities Together. This mission reflects our commitment to building partnerships and caring for our communities where we live and work, both within and outside our hospitals. I have devoted my entire career to healthcare, most recently the past 10 years here on the Eastern Shore, and I can say with the deepest sincerity that I am truly grateful to be able to serve this incredible region. Often, we see members of our community when they are at their most vulnerable, and we find strength and purpose in those moments.

Of course, this past year has been particularly trying. COVID-19 has tested our resolve and challenged our spirit. With the backing of the entire University of Maryland Medical System, our team members at Shore Regional Health have risen to this unprecedented challenge. We have cared for nearly one thousand COVID-positive patients, expanded capacity in our hospitals, conducted community testing and partnered with counties to deploy COVID vaccines. Over the course of this past year, I have had the opportunity to witness compassion, decency, kindness and determination in the faces of our patients, their families and among our team members and I have only the people of the Eastern Shore to thank for this blessing.

The whole of the Eastern Shore has a unique spirit and identity, and Chestertown’s distinctive identity is especially strong. For years, the future of UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown has been a topic of speculation, debate and even frustration. The questions raised about the future of the hospital are both worthy and appropriate. As such, I wish to thank the leaders and citizens for their dedication to our hospital. I am using this letter to affirm, unequivocally, that we have developed a path forward that keeps the hospital in Chestertown. As I look ahead, I am also extremely excited about what is possible if we work together toward an even broader goal: a system that supports improved access to care and a healthier community extending beyond the walls of our hospital. It is our responsibility to fulfill this obligation as the healthcare system serving our rural communities.

Our commitment to care for the people of Kent and northern Queen Anne’s counties demands that we reimagine how care is delivered, and this means working with our partners, local leaders, government officials and our communities to secure the future for access to care and better health. The first step in this process is to recognize that UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, as a small, rural hospital, should be afforded the opportunities offered to similar rural hospitals across the United States. Over the past year, Shore’s leadership has worked with the State of Maryland to secure these opportunities. Second, we must prioritize care for our most vulnerable populations by offering necessary, high-quality outpatient and home-based health and wellness services. Caring for our patients beyond our hospital walls, especially the growing number of elderly patients, must be a larger priority. Finally, we’ve listened to the community and also to the experts engaged by the State of Maryland in the Rural Health Study.

We know work must be done so patients have access to primary care, the right specialists and the right care, whether in Chestertown, Easton or elsewhere within our University of Maryland Medical System. Transportation, technology and other solutions will be a focus to enhance our capability to deliver on these needs.

As we move forward, I am committed to transparency for how we will secure the future of healthcare in our region. In that spirit, I want to share a few important updates about our next steps, while at the same time asking for your support.

Over the next month, UM Shore Regional Health will refine a plan that defines the future of our rural hospital and offers services that promote the health and wellness of our community. This process will include meetings with our medical staff, team members and board of directors as well as regulators at the State of Maryland. Following their input, we will present the plan to the community and local leaders this spring, answering your questions and taking in your feedback through town halls and other forums.

Throughout this process I promise to be honest and forthright about our collective path forward, and in exchange I ask for your patience. We will work to keep you informed as we refine our new models of care and look forward to presenting our ideas to the community, where I am confident we will earn your support and gain your enthusiasm.

Until then, thank you to everyone on the Eastern Shore for your continued support for UM Shore Regional Health. Your appreciation for our compassionate care and confidence in the heroic work our team does every day on your behalf is greatly appreciated.

Ken Kozel
President and CEO
University Of Maryland Shore Regional Health

CAROLINE | DORCHESTER | KENT | QUEEN ANNE’S | TALBOT

Visit us at umshoreregional.org

Life Lessons from the Dog Park by Angela Rieck

February 25, 2021 by Angela Rieck 4 Comments

Every morning I go to the dog park. It is the highlight of my dogs’ day. Their eyes follow me all morning, looking for that step toward the leashes…it must be something about the way that I walk, but they start to get excited even before I get there. An excited flurry of circles and barks ensues while I try to put on the leashes and grab the doggie bags…but we eventually get to the dog park, where they spend the entire hour sitting in a lap or under my chair.

It’s always the anticipation, isn’t it?

This year, a new dog visitor arrived, a shy male chihuahua about 4 months old. Very fearful, he hid under his owners’ chairs. Most people’s instinct is to cuddle the animal to reassure him, but these were experienced dog owners who knew better. So, they read their newspapers while he cowered under a chair. And there he sat for a couple of weeks.

They gave him an occasional pet, but otherwise ignored him. He slowly began to venture from his spot, sniffing a dog and then running back. Each day he ventured out a little more. Sometimes an older dog would snap at him, but the owners knew not to intervene. Their puppy gradually learned to speak “dog” and understood who wanted to play and who did not. Fast forward two months and this little guy now greets every dog and person who enters with his waggy tail and excited bark. He runs around the park letting people pet him and playing with other dogs.

He owns this park.

It reminds me of a similar experience that I had with my daughter. She had just graduated from college and landed a job in Philadelphia. She got an apartment with a friend who was going to graduate school at Penn. But it didn’t work out, her friend finished the master’s program early and left my daughter friendless in a strange city carrying the rent.

While our daughter struggled, my husband and I had challenges of our own. He had been in a serious accident while we were spending a long weekend in Key West and was medevaced to a Miami Hospital where he endured 8 surgeries over a month long stay. After leaving the hospital, he needed round the clock care requiring us to stay in Key West, 1500 miles away from our struggling daughter. Then, through no fault of her own, she lost her job. There she was, out of work, in a strange city with another 6 months on a lease that she couldn’t afford and we couldn’t come to her aid when she needed us the most. She hesitantly negotiated herself out of the lease and a friend of ours helped her move and gave her a place to stay in New Jersey while she applied for jobs in New York City.

It didn’t go well. The loss of her first job was a stain on her resume and it took over 6 months and almost 50 job interviews before she finally landed a job. After securing an apartment, her NYC roommate pulled out at the last minute. So she had to share her apartment with a stranger. It was a very difficult year, as her father’s injury hid a grave illness and he died 8 months later. It was a lot for her to deal with.

Fast forward 6 years, she has become enormously successful. She confidently leads a global team and is the youngest Senior Director in the company’s history. After a couple of years, she found a compatible roommate and they have shared an apartment for 3 years. After the COVID 19 crisis is over, she will be moving to London to lead her team. She is a confident, empathetic, and kind person.

Sometimes we help the most when we don’t help at all.

Will 2021 be a Good Year? by J.E. Dean

February 24, 2021 by J.E. Dean Leave a Comment

The jury is still out on whether 2021 will be a good year. Hope and evidence that progress is being made on the pandemic are increasing. The economy appears to be coming back to life, a trend that could be accelerated if the pending stimulus bill passes. And our political system appears to be returning to normal after the nightmare of January 6. On the other hand, our new President has yet to face his first foreign policy crisis, and we are experiencing some strange weather.

Thus, it is fair to wonder what will happen in the rest of 2021. Here are a few predictions.

Further progress will occur on the virus, both as the numbers of people vaccinated continue to increase and as more people contract the virus and recover. By year end, we will still be asked to wear masks, there will still be a stubborn 10 percent of the population that refuses to get vaccinated, and more “new strains” will occur.

While progress on the virus in the US is likely, things could get worse in the developing world. The focal point of the crisis—and, hopefully, the prime target for vaccinations and relief—will switch to these areas. Will the US play its part?

The economy will continue to recover, but not for everyone. The pandemic has made permanent changes in the details of where and what the jobs are. Even as unemployment continues to decrease, millions of Americans will remain in need. Additional relief and stimulus, more carefully targeted, will be necessary.

President Biden will face one or more major foreign policy challenges. Speculation is always dangerous but watch China’s actions towards Taiwan. If Xi Jinping decides to assert control over Taiwan by force, the question for the US will be whether to respond militarily. Similarly, North Korea or Iran might choose to take military action of some sort on the assumption that President Biden will not respond.

More major natural disasters will occur. Last week’s Texas freeze may or may not reflect climate change, but ever-greater natural disasters will increase. The probability of similar events—hurricanes, forest fires, polar vortexes, extraordinary heat waves, and maybe even an earthquake—is high. Is the US properly prepared?

Expect more political turmoil caused by or tied to ex-president Trump. It now appears virtually certain that Trump will face a deluge of criminal and civil litigation. Regardless of your thoughts on whether this should happen, Trump’s band of followers is likely to respond negatively. Given that some people involved are extremists, violent responses are a risk. Hopefully, the FBI and other agencies are watching all groups that might contemplate violent political action, and these agencies will spring into action before such events occur.

More racial equity protests are likely to occur. It is naïve to assume that this summer will not see more widespread protests, especially if additional triggering events—things like police violence—happen. It is essential that the new administration fulfills its promise to make racial equity a priority. If people of color believe that government is working for them, they will work with it rather than assuming that the only way to effectuate change is to force it.

President Biden will continue to exceed expectations. Five weeks does not a presidency make. While, at least for this writer, President Biden is striking the right tone, it remains to be seen how he will handle a crisis and whether his team will prove up to the task of leading us out of the current disaster. So far, there is little to criticize. Cross your fingers that it stays that way with Biden—and that the new President remains healthy and committed to working with Republicans when Republicans are willing to work with him.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours? Are you feeling optimistic, pessimistic, or simply confused?

J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. For more than 30 years, he advised clients on federal education and social service policy.

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